[amsat-bb] ANS-316 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-316
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a
worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in
designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital
Amateur Radio satellites.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org
In this edition:
* Satellite/VHF DX Events
* FITSAT-1 5.84 GHZ Downlink Received in USA
* Japan Schedules Launch of New Low Cost Epsilon Rocket
* FUNcube-1 CubeSat time-lapse video
* ARISS Status - 5 November 2012
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-316.01
ANS-316 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 316.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 11, 2012
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-316.01
Satellite/VHF DX Events
* Yuri, UT1FG/MM, reports having a very rare (Grid FK69ow -> GG24PL)
5217km 144.300 MHz contact with Alberto, ZP9SC, on November 2nd,
at 2359z . Yuri monitors 50.110 and 144.300 MHz and is currently in
the Atlantic (GL05) headed for the English Channel. When not on
6 and 2 meters, he is working the FM and SSB satellites with his
Elk and "CJU" antennas, and an IC706 from rare wet grids.
* Larry, VY0HL, in FP53 is back on the satellites. He favors VO-52
and is in the rare Canadian Territory of Nunavut.
* Daniel, AL7RS, in AP65 and in Teller, Alaska (on the Bearing Sea),
likes CW on FO-29. E-mail him for a schedule.
[ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information]
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FITSAT-1 5.84 GHZ Downlink Received in USA
The FITSAT-1 CubeSat, developed by students at the Fukuoka Institute
of Technology (FIT) in Japan has a CW beacon on 437.250 MHz and a
data link on 437.445 MHz. There is also a 5.8 GHz data downlink and
an optical LED experiment that will flash Morse code planned to be
visible with the unaided eye.
FITSAT-1, also named NIWAKA was one of five cubesats launched on
July 21 and loaded aboard the ISS. These were integrated with the
J-SSOD small satellite deployer on the the Japanese Experiment Mod-
ule, also known as Kibo. They were deployed with the Kibo robotic
arm on October 4.
Shortly after deployment into orbit FITSAT-1 was heard with strong
signals on its 437 MHz downlinks. FITSAT CW transmits, "HI DE NIWAKA
JAPAN" with its telemetry data.
Mike Sequin, N1JEZ in Vermont reported success in copying the 5.8 GHz
downlink from NIWAKA. Mike wrote, "Success! I was able to detect NI-
WAKA. It was lower in frequency that I expected, but with the Funcube
[Dongle], it was easy to spot. The Doppler was huge! and I was moving
the dish almost continuous to try and keep up. The 5.84 GHz transmit-
ter seemed to come on very close to the set time. First detection was
at 12:24:21 UTC."
Mike posted two screen shots. In the first shot, you can see the sig-
nal on the left side Doppler shifting down. In the second, a close up
of one data burst with Doppler - about 3 seconds or so:
+ http://tinyurl.com/N1JEZ-Screen1
+ http://tinyurl.com/N1JEZ-Screen2
Mike's station used a 5.760 DEMI Transverter with a 144 MHz IF. That
Is why the HDSDR screen for the FUNcube Dongle is tuned to 224 MHz.
His antenna is a 2 foot dish is with a Directive Systems 5.76 G feed.
You can receive a FITSAT-1 QSL card by sending your signal report
and your postal address to: fitsat1 at hotmail.co.jp and also cc: to
tanaka at fit.ac.jp. A photo of the QSL card is shown at:
http://www.fit.ac.jp/~tanaka/fitsat.shtml (This web page will also
be updated with information about the status of the LED experiment."
HB9FFH has made a telemetry decoder for FITSAT-1, available at:
http://carpcomm.com/satellite/fitsat1
FITSAT students have also developed a similar program for windows:
http://turing.cs.fit.ac.jp/~fitsat/CWFM/FITSAT_CW_Analyzer1.zip
Here is a reminder of the FITSAT-1/NIWAKA frequencies:
CW Beacon 437.250 MHz,
FM Data 437.445 MHz,
High speed data 5840.00 MHz
[ANS thanks Mike Seguin, N1JEZ and Takushi Tanaka, JA6AVG for the
above information]
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Japan Schedules Launch of New Low Cost Epsilon Rocket
Japan is scheduled to launch its first Epsilon solid-fueled rocket next year,
deploying a planetary telescope in orbit while
demonstrating new low-cost rocket
assembly and control techniques, the Japanese space agency announced last week.
The Epsilon program is designed to cut in half the cost of Japanese small
satellite launches. Japan's M-5 rocket, which launched seven times before
retiring in 2006, cost $94 million per flight. Engineers designed the Epsilon
rocket with a simplified control system, and the vehicle's own computers will
autonomously monitor the status of its systems during a countdown. Only a
handful of engineers with laptop computers are required on the launch control
team, according to JAXA. The Epsilon is also
designed to launch after only seven
days of assembly on the launch pad, reducing labor and overhead costs.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported last week the first launch of an Epsilon
rocket is scheduled for August or September of 2013.
[ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]
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FUNcube-1 CubeSat time-lapse video
A time-lapse video made in the ISIS clean-room showing the integration of the
AMSAT-UK amateur radio satellite FUNcube-1 has been released
FUNcube-1 is aiming to launch on a DNEPR rocket from Yasny with 17 other
satellites carrying amateur radio payloads in the first half of 2013.
FUNcube is a complete educational single CubeSat project with the goal of
enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and
electronics. The target audience consists of
primary and secondary school pupils
and the satellite will feature a 145 MHz telemetry beacon that will provide a
strong signal for the pupils to receive.
FUNcube-1 also carries a 435 to 145 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW
communications.
It is being designed and built by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL in collaboration with
ISIS ­ Innovative Solutions in Space BV.
Watch FUNcube flight integration time-lapse (full)
http://www.youtube.com/embed/sEMoLOcGOOw?rel=0
Other FUNcube-1 videos can be seen at
http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=11333
[ANS thanks South Gate ARC for the above information]
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ARISS Status - 5 November 2012
1. Successful ARISS Contacts Held
On Tuesday, October 30, South Florida Science Museum (SFSM) in West Palm Beach,
Florida welcomed county students to participate in an Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI aboard
the ISS. The West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Club, WPBARC, which maintains a ham
station within the museum, collaborated with area teachers to provide
educational content to students emphasizing NASA,
the ISS and amateur radio. The
club facilitated the radio connection with the ISS. During the contact,
approximately 90 students were present at the
radio station site and another 200
were in an adjacent room watching by CCTV. VIPs in attendance included Scott
Carpenter - one of the original seven astronauts. The contact was seen by
125,000-187,000 students. The event was broadcast over the air on the
Educational Networks channel 23, the PBS station's channel 42.4 (digital), and
on 2 local Comcast Cable channels, bringing the
estimated live audience to about
250,000 viewers. Others watched the live stream on the internet. Video is
available for viewing: https://vodcast.palmbeachschools.org/player/812RZ
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held
between students from Southern Tier Catholic and Archbishop Walsh Academy in
Olean, New York and astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB on the Space Station on
Tuesday, October 30 using telebridge station IK1SLD in Italy. An audience of
over 100 gathered for the event at the Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center
at St. Bonaventure University located in Allegany, New York, and listened as
Williams answered 19 questions during the
11minute pass over northern Italy. The
contact was part of a comprehensive education
plan covering Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Olean Times Herald covered the event.
See:
http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/article_378e5d5e-235e-11e2-9531-
0019bb2963f4.html
Students from Cumberland Elementary School in West Lafayette, Indiana
participated in a Q&A session with Kevin Ford, KF5GPP via an Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station (ARISS) contact
on Tuesday, October 30. Over 600
students, parents and teachers listened in as the youths asked their questions.
The contact was integrated into a curriculum covering topics on space research,
robotics and engineering. WLFI TV 18 and Lafayette Journal Courier provided
media coverage. See:
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/cumberland-elementary-calling-the-
international-space-station
and
http://www.jconline.com/article/20121030/NEWS0401/310300030/West-Lafayette-
school-to-space-station-Do-you-copy-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
An ARISS contact was held between Primarschule Aesch students in Forch,
Switzerland and on-orbit astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB on Friday, November
2. The children had 21 questions answered before the ISS went over the horizon.
Around 40 people attended the event which received extensive media coverage
including 3 newspapers, one country-wide radio station and one television
station. The contact complemented a science curriculum covering astronomy and
spaceflight.
2. Public Relations Award Received for ARISS Contact
The ARISS contact held with Flabob Airport
Preparatory Academy on April 19, 2012
earned Karen and Clint Bradford an award for an annual competition held by the
Public Relations Society of America. For the full story, see:
http://ariss.rac.ca/oindex.
htm#Special_event_with_astronaut_wins_public_relations_award
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org